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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsAddiction therapists trying to help addicted in the game
by Mike Schramm 
Jul 27th 2009 at 5:00PM
Britain's Telegraph newspaper has news about addiction therapists joining the game themselves, specifically to find and seek out players who might meet the definition of addicted to World of Warcraft. They're actually looking for official Blizzard support, too. I'm not sure how much help you can actually provide by chatting with a player in the game ("Hello, it looks like you've been online for the last 16 hours, are you addicted?"), but they want to do it.Dr. Richard Graham wants to launch a program by the end of the year that includes some in-game outreach, and even he agrees that it'll be tough sell. Then again, maybe the guy just wants to play some WoW for free:
"While a psychiatrist may excel in what they do in the real world, they're probably not going to be very good at playing World of Warcraft. We may have to work at that if we are going to get through to those who play this game for hours at end."
Right. "Work.".
Seriously, sure, this is definitely an issue -- I have a psychologist friend, and he's done some work with people addicted to video games before, including World of Warcraft. But even he tells me that video game addiction is almost always a byproduct of some other form of addiction -- people already have the capability for a debilitating addiction, and they just find an outlet in Blizzard's game. From that point of view, these therapists might have more luck wandering around bars or casinos than actually looking for players in Azeroth.
I'm all for helping people who might have issues with addiction, but diving into the game and trying to both find and help people that way doesn't really seem like the best way to do it. Odds are that a WoW addiction will end up manifesting itself elsewhere in the person's life, and that's probably a better place for these guys to look
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Guilds, Odds and ends, Blizzard
Reader Comments (Page 6 of 6)
Syna Jul 30th 2009 5:14AM
I am a psychologist and I play wow.... Was in hardcore guild until beginning of this year, when my priorities changed. Still play tho.
Urdla Jul 28th 2009 5:59AM
Addiction surely is a problem in virtual worlds. The high grade of immersion allows you to leave your body behind, rl-attractivity is not important, status can be earned easier than in real life, social contacts come fast and are quite uncomplicated...
Of course, the problem exists inside the addicted. The game itself is just the tool for escapism. Therapy is very important for people, who are getting too much involved in virtual realities, because they might loose their abbilities to survive in real life.
WoW is no disease, but in many reactions in this forum I see the fear that they once will claim WoW to be the problem...
A friend of mine with a big alcoholic problem and the typical tendency to ignore the problem, always had the worst opinions about people with a drinking problem. Maybe he was frightened, that those people give beer a bad name? ;)
[Sorry for bad spelling and grammar, english is a school language for me]
Jariaji Jul 28th 2009 6:49AM
Exactly.
There ARE people who are addicted to the game and they need help. Maybe it isn't to the degree that the press would have us believe, but then the press are famous for exxagerating things.
I think everyone has met this sort of person, everyone probably has one in their guild. The person who is NEVER it seems, offline. They claim they have a high powered job, friends and family. Yet they are online all day, every day. These peoples reaction when you confront them is "How do oyu know I am on all day unless you are on all day yourself" well easy, its called guildies. Everyone knows the no-lifers in their guild. They make claims such as that they are going to the cinema later with a friend, yet when you log off at whatever hour you log off, they still ain't gone to this cinema meet...
When I was unemployed I played alot inbetween interviews for jobs. I had one in my guild who claimed he was a bank manager. Yet the bank he claimed to work for I know for a fact had blocked WoW ports (I used to work for them, and its the same bank my mother works for, coincidentally also as a department manager). They don't have remote desktop and the internet access they have is heavily restricted even at managerial level. Yet he claimed he could play WoW all day...and had no work to do ( wish he'd tell that to my mother and her colleagues in management, who are working themselves into an early grave).
Thing is, people fake it. They KNOW that they play too much so they create fantasies in real life to try and cover it up. They have it mixed up, WoW is the fantasy world...Those people need help, and we all know someone like that in game, hell I might even be describing some commenters here. I don't think we should criticize others for reaching out to those individuals who truly do need help.
Zandrae Jul 30th 2009 6:58PM
Why does it really matter? Yeah, sure, maybe if someone has dropped all real life responsibility to play 24/7 there might be a problem, but, honestly?
In economic hard times, it's not hard to believe that many people are spending much of their time in a place of unlimited entertainment at an amazingly low cost: 50 cents a day.
Those who don't have access to medical care, or have found roadblocks to wellness (it takes 4 months to be able to see a psych for a diagnosis here), something fun to keep one distracted could mean the difference between survival and suicide.
I wouldn't be surprised if one of those wacko psyches contacted me. I'd give then an earful about the economy and the US health system.
etoxins Jul 29th 2009 7:05PM
my wife thought i was addicted but i was using Wow as an outlet for a crappy marriage that i didnt want to do anything about. i would immerse myself in the game for hours and thought wow.. time flies when your having fun. so eventually i kept playing and she kept going out to the bars spending more money. neither one of us was really addicted but she loved me and was willing to overlook my playing time. i eventually wanted a divorce andit was no easy task. now she hates me but we are both happy
Shes happy with someone else and im happy playing the game. i have two toons, play when i get off work and play alot on the weekends. i work out, do my chores and eat beforehand then i get on and raid and talk with 24 other people. luckily i dont have to deal with their drama and they with mine
i wouldnt say im addicted to Wow. i still call my mom, hang out with pops on fridays for happy hour and go to my nieces b day parties but Wow does take up alot of my time.
im also saving money by not going to bars when i get a little lonely. plus i have 24 others to talk to if i do while i learn to live alone (always had roommates and its nice change of pace). i work outside for a living in AZ so staying inside for 48 hours is rather nice recharge from 110 degree weather.
maybe i am addicted to Wow and all things Wow but it beats meth by large margin and being a geek is the new flavor of the month anyway but i do set parameters for myself.
Besides, have u seen whats on TV these days? Seriously
jc123 Jan 8th 2010 11:23PM
The number of people addicted to this game is far greater than many on here would care to admit. As a recovering addict, I personally came into contact with far too many people who logged more hours in game then they did in reality. I know this because I was logged in far too much and saw the same people on with me. Every raiding guild I was in had a huge percentage of these people. In fact, I'd go far to say it is nearly impossible to keep up with the benjamins without playing at an alarming level because of the constant additions. I've personally seen instances of people in raids neglecting their real life...staying for one last attempt and leaving late for work, allowing their child to cry just a little longer, or making there spouse even madder. Is this game drugs or boozing, no...is it a destructive force in peoples, lives, yes. Blizzard is not your loving friend, they are a business with 1 goal and 1 goal only: to make money. The best way to do that is to keep you playing, period. Its also very difficult to quit, I've seen many people quit only to come back a few days later, or people say they need to quit and never do it. Blizz makes it extremely easy to come back, even if you do things to prevent yourself from doing. Delete your character: no prob, they'll restore it. Change your password/email: no prob, they'll just set you up again with new one if you contact them. Throw away your disks, no prob, they will just let you download it from their website. I do not blame blizz for wanting to make money, in fact I wouldn't doubt they're part of my 401k. People are responsible for abusing this game. But, I think people are denying the reality that many of them and many of their friends are in fact addicted to wow.
kunukia Jul 28th 2009 10:34AM
I have about a year played, across all my toons, having started shortly after release. I am not addicted, I am disabled. I used to play more than I do now, but still log in a decent amount of time each week. It is bloody cheap entertainment, and I am not ashamed at all of loving it.
I eat, bathe, do other net-surfing, baby and dog sit for my daughter...and play WoW for sometimes many hours a day.
My point is hours played is not the right criteria for addiction, IMO. Some people just have more hours of enforced leisure.
Raizak Whitewolf Jul 28th 2009 11:51AM
There is no such thing as "video game addiction", or for that matter "gambling addiction" or "sex addiction". Only stupid people with no self-control, and shrinks and pharma peddlers profiting off them. Which I don't really have a problem with, because if you're stupid you deserve every bad thing that happens to you as a result of your stupidity.
Badger Jul 28th 2009 4:37PM
You have absolutely no understanding whatsoever of the physiological processes associated with addiction and should probably not shoot your mouth off like this.
benedikto Jul 28th 2009 7:45PM
ok these shrinks have no idea what they're stepping into. you just know that the player's gonna reply: Stfu you *@!#% !@#@@ *)(*)&# ! And then /ignore. I know I will.
Velaxis Jul 28th 2009 11:11PM
Quite honestly, I get rather sick of people who don't play MMO's regarding our (admittedly sedentary) sport as some kind of illness to get over. To me it is no different from any other hobby. We meet people, we make friends, we learn a game, and most of us are interested in getting better at it. That is the case with all games, whether it involves running up and down a field, or being crouched over a board, or sitting in front of a computer. As other people have mentioned, just because our interest involves new technology, eek! the dreaded computer!, it's seen as somehow less in comparison to other hobbies and games. It's not.
As for psychiatrists prowling our virtual world on the lookout for 'addicts', surely they could find better ways to employ their time with people who really need it. I have no doubt there are a minority who totally lose themselves in virtual worlds, because for whatever reason real life is scary, or unattractive, or without value. But that is a minority, and I'm sure those problems would exist for such types, when they came online or not.
I can only say that playing WoW has enriched my social life, because I've met people from all over the world, who in many cases have become real life friends. I don't see this as a problem to overcome. It's a new way of playing and socialising, and it's here to stay, so the Luddites should get over it. :)
Davidelle Dec 9th 2010 4:06PM
I agree that playing wow with somebody as a means to help them break a wow addiction is a bit unusual, sort of like trying to help an alcoholic by taking him to the pub, but i think your article underestimates the seriousness of it. Yes your not likely to drop dead of an overdose playing wow but it can have serious consequences to someones life if you become genuinally addicted to it or other games like it. Lack of relationships, no job, no money, no exercise, no prospects - like everything in life you need it in moderation. Often when i log on the same people are always there regardless of what time it may be, i can't help but wonder how these people function in life or support themselves. I know some of them have kids too and i'm sorry but sitting in front of a pc taking breaks every few hours to put them on a movie or make them a ready meal borders on neglect in my opinion, and at the very least poor parenting.